Queer Blood Relations: The Thickness of Witness

Last month in Detroit I had the honor and pleasure of co-facilitating a workshop with Sangodare (aka Julia Roxanne Wallace) and Alexis De Veaux called “Queer Blood Relations: The Thickness of Witness” a tthe historic Fire and Ink IV celebration. During the course of our workshop the 20 participants

*found the ways that we were related to each other in the room

*learned the song “Mojuba” in the context of Sangodare’s explication of a bapticostal, queer visionary, Yoruba Ifa-Orisha spiritual calling

*witnessed Alexis De Veaux’s family tree of literary precedents that made her book YABO possible

*engaged my black feminist breathing collages as examples of creating visual sacred space for our work in the context of our literary ancestors

*and created Mojuba prayers to honor the lineage of their own creativity as black queer literary geniuses which they are now using to create sacred space every time they write.

We closed the workshop with a ritual group poem based on the concept of YABO-the unbreakable thread, binding our intergenerational circle with intention laughter and affirmation. After you read a line that resonates with you, you can shout YABO! like we did to affirm the unbreakable thread and if you are anything like our interconnected group of queer black geniuses at the end you will laugh and rejoice.

The Unbreakable Thread (YABO)

spoken by the participants in the Queer Blood Relations Workshop at Fire and Ink 2015 in Detroit, MI

I bind myself to you with joy and revelation.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with the truth of who we are: divine one.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with the spirit and energy of freedom.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with purity and with wisdom.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with the magic of wildness and the sweetness of nature.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with the magic of who were, who we are and who we will be.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with electric positivity and reverence.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with spirit, energy, freedom and love.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with the power of our history and the potential of our future.
YABO!

I bind myself to you with the unbroken thread of love.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with patience and dance.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with healing and love as we build in afrofuturism.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with dignity and respect.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with fearlessness and confidence.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with determination and legacy.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with the roots of all the hairs that we’ve ever had.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with the miracle that is playfulness and laughter.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with unbound creativity.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with the hope for liberation.

YABO!

I bind myself to you with an erotic life and the joy that having an erotic life brings to us.